The sear adjustment adjusts the position of the contact point between the sear and a hammer relative to a sear pivot axis and adjusts the sear relative to a bolt operating actuator.
A paintball gun employing pressurized gas to launch paintballs, to reload, and to cock a hammer, has a trigger that performs multiple tasks. These tasks include holding a hammer in a cocked position, releasing the hammer to expel a paintball and shifting an autoloader and cocker valve to load another paintball in a chamber and re-cocking the hammer. The trigger controls a sear and a valve. The trigger requires a range of movement to control the valve. Some sear movement is also required to move the sear between a hammer release position and a position in which the hammer is cocked and retained until a paintball is to be released.
The operation of the sear and the valve must be coordinated to ensure that the hammer is cocked and a paintball is in a closed chamber every time the gun is aimed and the trigger is squeezed. A purpose of the powered cocking and loading of a paintball into a chamber is to increase the rate of paintball discharges. To increase the discharge rate, the system must be ready to force a paintball into the chamber as soon as it is fed by gravity or force fed into the bolt passage.
The range of trigger movement is minimized to increase the rate of paintball discharges. The pressure required to squeeze the trigger, move the sear and release the hammer is adjustable within limits. The sears used in some paintball launchers with powered cocking of the hammer have had a tendency to float and not hold the hammer in a cocked position. When the sear does not hold the hammer in a cocked position, it is necessary to manually cock the hammer. In some situations multiple paintballs are loaded into the chamber due to the hammer floating over the sear. When there are multiple paintballs in the chamber they must be removed with care to ensure that they are not ruptured inside the barrel.
The compressed gas operated projectile launcher has a body with a bolt passage and a hammer passage. A bolt is slidably mounted in the bolt passage between a bolt open position and a blot closed position. A barrel is connected to the launcher body in axial alignment with the bolt passage. A compressed gas supply container is connected to the launcher body. A linear actuator is connected to the launcher body and to the bold for moving the bolt between the bolt open position and the bolt closed position. An actuator control valve is connected to the compressed gas supply container and to the linear actuator. The control valve is shiftable between a first valve position in which compressed gas closed the bolt and a second valve position in which compressed gas opens the bolt. A launcher valve is connected to the compressed gas supply and to the bolt passage. A hammer is slidably mounted in the hammer passage and movable between a cocked position and a launcher valve open position.
The trigger assembly includes a frame attached to the launcher body, a sear pivotally mounted on the frame and having a first sear end with a hammer holding surface, and a second sear end with a trigger contact surface. A trigger is pivotally mounted on the frame and has a trigger sear arm, a sear adjustment screw received in a threaded bore in the trigger sear arm and in engagement with the trigger contact surface on the sear. At least one valve operating link is connected to the actuator control valve and to the trigger. A sear lug on the bolt engages the hammer holding surface on the first sear end to hold the hammer in the cocked position. The trigger is pivoted in one direction to move the hammer holding surface on the sear away from the sear lug thereby releasing the hammer.